Unlocking the iPod — Jon Johansen became a geek hero by breaking the DVD code. Now he's liberating iTunes - whether Apple likes it or not. — (Fortune Magazine) — Growing up in a small town in southern Norway, Jon Lech Johansen loved to take things apart to figure out how they worked.

Jingle gets $30M to grow its free directory assistance service — (Updated below with comments from chief executive George Garrick) — Jingle Networks, a Menlo Park start-up which provides free phone directory assistance, has raised a whopping $30 million more in venture capital — upping the ante in what is now a crowded field.

Jingle Networks Has Now Raised Over $60 million — Like Skype, the main attraction of Jingle Networks is to destroy a fat existing market. Skype gave users a way to bypass costly telephone calls by routing them over the internet for free. Jingle Networks, through its 1-800-Free-411 service …

We're Google. So Sue Us. — Google attracts millions of Web users every day. And, increasingly, it's attracting the attention of plenty of lawyers, too. — As Google has grown into the world's most popular search engine and, arguably, the most powerful Internet company …

Cisco unveils HD video conferencing system — Network equipment maker Cisco Systems on Sunday unveiled a high-definition video conferencing system that it says can grow into a billion-dollar business in five to seven years. — Named TelePresence, the product is the latest move by Cisco …

Found: 1 black 30 GB video iPod. Is it yours? — If this isn't a test for how the blogosphere can get things done, I'm not sure what is. As a part of this test, if you happen to read this blog entry and you have a blog, please spread the word and let's see if the viral nature of the blogosphere can help this iPod find its owner.

Security Researchers Cry Wolf On RFID Credit Cards — from the bark->-bite dept — Two security researchers allege that the contactless payment solutions credit-card companies have begun building into their cards are relatively insecure, and transmit sensitive information without any encryption.

Real Sharing vs. Fake Sharing — In a recent brainstorming session about Web 2.0, I made the observation that "harnessing collective intelligence" is the pattern that opened the Web 2.0 era, but that "Data is the Intel Inside" is the pattern that will bring it to a close.

Google Adjusts Hiring Process As Needs Grow — Google Inc.'s recruiting process is legendary in Silicon Valley. Tales abound of job candidates who suffered through a dozen or more in-person interviews, and applicants with years of work experience who were spurned after disclosing they had so-so college grades.

Kanguru $1k Drive Not For the Poor — We always make it a point of carrying around a spare USB drive, and as much as we'd love to bump up from our 3GB drive to a 32GB drive, $1,499 is a smidgen over out budget. But if you've got that kinda dough, the 32GB Flash Max Drive has a rugged aluminum exterior …

News On My Plans For Next Year — I'm currently on vacation, which is a bad time to announce some of my plans for 2007. But I reached an agreement with Incisive on Search Engine Strategies literally minutes before leaving, which I can now talk about. In short, I'll be chairing the SES NY 2007 show …

Back in the saddle for mesh 2007 — Ever since mesh ended back in May, we've had lots of people asking us — that is, Stuart and Rob and Mark and Mike — whether we're going to do another one, and the answer is... hell, yes! In fact, we had such a great time at mesh that we've been wanting …

Putting blogs to work for Wall Street — Collective Intellect has a goal: Make bloggers work for The Man. — The company has created a service that combs through thousands of blogs, news sites, chat rooms and other Web sites every day and then surfaces rumors and news reports that might …

AOL Fraud Prosecutors Stop Short Of the Top — Time Ran Out Before Cases Could Be Made — One of the government's most highly touted accounting-fraud investigations — into questionable advertising deals at America Online Inc. around the time it merged with Time Warner Inc. …